5 Questions With 5 Seasons

Penny Heyns

May 2012
We talk to Penny Heyns, the golden girl of South African sports in the 90s, and widely regarded as one of the greatest female breaststroke swimmers the world has ever seen.

qA1: You’re known as the “World’s greatest female breaststroker of the 20th Century”! What was the driving force behind your success as an Olympic athlete?
I grew up with a strong belief that I have been created for a purpose and that God has gifted me accordingly in various ways; one of the gifts or talents was clearly the ability to swim fast. Along with this belief came a strong sense of responsibility to use my talents and develop them to the best of my ability and thus the drive and determination developed which eventually took me to Olympic and world record success.

qA2: What went through your mind when you stood on the podium receiving South Africa’s FIRST gold medal in 44 years?
I had lots of mixed feelings when I stood on the Olympic podium in Atlanta to receive my first Gold for the 100m Breaststroke, and South Africa’s first in 44 years – I only found out this statistic long after the race. I remember thinking that I should feel emotional and overjoyed but instead I really was feeling sad for the Aussie swimmer, Samantha Riley (my long time rival and former world record holder), who only won bronze and not silver as I had hoped and expected. I was relieved to have won the Gold however disappointed at the time I swam in the final as it was slower that my world record swim from the morning prelims; so lots of mixed feelings. Two days later I won Gold in the 200m Breaststroke which was totally unexpected and apparently, unbeknown to me at the time, the first time in Olympic history that a woman had won both the 100m & 200m breaststroke titles. This was of course a wonderful and most humbling achievement and still remains so since no one has done it since.

qA3: You’ve done corporate motivational talks all over the world. What is the most unusual question posed to you by an audience member to date?
A lot of my corporate motivational talks are usually at events/conferences where we have a time constraint so I don’t often get to enjoy Q&A sessions, however when I do take questions they mostly touch on parenting advise from delegates who have talented kids, or technical questions around mental aspects of preparation and /or high performance related topics. No unusual questions come to mind, sorry!

qA4: Which local or international actress would you choose to play you in a movie about your life?
I shudder to think of a movie about my life, however if I had to choose then perhaps someone like Hillary Swank. To be honest, I really don’t know.

qA5: With the 2012 Olympics fast approaching, what is your message to the “Team South Africa”?
I would encourage them to think of the Games as just another competition so as not to get overwhelmed. Stick to what you know works and swim/run/etc your own race. Do the absolute best you can on the day and remember to enjoy the moments. Best wishes and God bless.

Read more about Penny Heyns on her profile page!